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Is it just me or do others think the factory alloy wheels that have spokes that stick out to the edge of the wheel is a dumb design? This is an off-road vehicle that is going to be driven through rocks. Why have the spokes sticking out so far that they easily get marred on rocks.

I would like to tell Toyota to design a 8" to 9" wide wheel with inset spokes and a replaceable metal rim to protect the edge of the wheel. A colored imitation bead lock rim that could protected the edge of the rim and could be inexpensive to replace when it got marred would be a big improvement over having expensive damaged wheels.

Premium Member

They had that on the TT and most of them were hard to balance. Everything boils down to cost. The wheels are strong, pretty much take abuse but are a comprimise between stength off road and something nice for the mall crawlers as well. Even with a ring, your not always guaranteed to not damage the wheel- could shear of the bolts holding the ring and then you would be drilling those out. Agree with you on the spokes- could have been more deep dish in style. A lot of tires have those shoulder guards now and help a lot.

Ive taken mine and painted them satin black with rattle cans and like the look. Covered all the trail rash and are easy to fix. It they are really bad- someone is always selling theirs on here for a decent price to match up the others

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I agree about the spokes. Mine have scratches all over them. However, I have to say the performance design is very good. I went to Moab this last weekend with a buddy who does competitive crawling with his buggy. When we started out he asked how far I had aired down. I told him ~20psi. He said "Aw, you can go down to 8-10psi without any problem." When I looked at him like he was nuts, he told me that he currently uses this rim on his comp buggy and runs 4-8psi and has only rolled 1 bead. Sure enough, I ran for 4 days at ~10psi with no problems. So, the looks may fade, but the performance continues. Oh, and here is a pic of my tire on Hell's Gate - which I conquered!

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The 2011 alloys are designed differently, and I can tell you that they withstand an incredible amount of abuse. My are scratched and gouged, but I've not had any serious problems. I drop to 14psi on the trails.

Remember, Toyota offers the steel wheels on the FJ --if you damage those you can just hammer them back and make it home. :cheers:

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If you take all the wheels that have come on the FJC the steelies are your best bet if pure off road capability is what you have in mind. As stated above they can be beat back into at least a shape that will hold air in a pinch.

I woulld not look to Toyota to supply any of their product with an "offroad" wheel. I'd be surprised if 1 in 5,000 FJs actually see even light off road duty. Just something you need to go aftermarket to get what works for you.

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I agree about the spokes. Mine have scratches all over them. However, I have to say the performance design is very good. I went to Moab this last weekend with a buddy who does competitive crawling with his buggy. When we started out he asked how far I had aired down. I told him ~20psi. He said "Aw, you can go down to 8-10psi without any problem." When I looked at him like he was nuts, he told me that he currently uses this rim on his comp buggy and runs 4-8psi and has only rolled 1 bead. Sure enough, I ran for 4 days at ~10psi with no problems. So, the looks may fade, but the performance continues. Oh, and here is a pic of my tire on Hell's Gate - which I conquered!

I'm sure the rim is fine, but how about your tires? I personally would never go that low in psi. I'm sure your buddy has pro-stickies on his buggy, and from what I can tell in your pic you do not have tires that are made to run at such low pressures. 18 psi is the lowest I have ever dropped my pressure while playing in Moab and have never had a problem with traction. You might want to give your sidewalls a good examine for some wear and tear. :cheers: $.04

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I'm sure the rim is fine, but how about your tires? I personally would never go that low in psi. I'm sure your buddy has pro-stickies on his buggy, and from what I can tell in your pic you do not have tires that are made to run at such low pressures. 18 psi is the lowest I have ever dropped my pressure while playing in Moab and have never had a problem with traction. You might want to give your sidewalls a good examine for some wear and tear. :cheers: $.04

I am running 285/75/16 tires and find the wheels still get nailed when attempting ascents on large wet rocks. Granted that the majority of FJs will not be challenged like this, it would be nice if the factory had some more serious off road wheels.

The best they offer are the "steelies" which can withstand contact with rocks much better than alloy wheels. I went with aftermarket steel wheels as I wanted a wheel that was a little wider to handle wider tires. I had fun trying to find and eliminate steering wheel shake with these aftermarket wheels. Road Force balancing changed weights (amount and locations) and also found a defective tire. Rebalanced wheels were carefully centered on hub and problem solved.

I will be repairing my factory alloys and painting them black so I can throw on a set of "dress shoes" if I want. :cheers:

Banned

I am running 285/75/16 tires and find the wheels still get nailed when attempting ascents on large wet rocks. Granted that the majority of FJs will not be challenged like this, it would be nice if the factory had some more serious off road wheels.
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Are you sure we are talking the same wheels? Do you have the off-road package? Without off-road package, the wheels are 17", not 16". Based on the description of your problem it looks like you have the stock rims (i.e. 17").

Premium Member

Are you sure we are talking the same wheels? Do you have the off-road package? Without off-road package, the wheels are 17", not 16". Based on the description of your problem it looks like you have the stock rims (i.e. 17").

Premium Member

Are you sure we are talking the same wheels? Do you have the off-road package? Without off-road package, the wheels are 17", not 16". Based on the description of your problem it looks like you have the stock rims (i.e. 17").

I had the 16" TRD Alloys on my FJ. I have the off-road package, and have a 3" OME lift and a ARB air locking front differential. I considered the 17" wheels for a aftermarket upgrade, but the tires were more expensive (sometime ridiculously so), and I wanted taller sidewalls to help protect the wheels so I stayed with a 16" wheel.

Those are really slick looking wheels, but are too expensive for me. I would feel really bad on trashing one of those wheels. :mecry:

I went with a steel wheel. I know there are a lot of weight related disadvantages to steel vs alloy, but I chose abrasion resistance and easy repair/touch-up over the lower weight alloy wheels.:bigthumb:

I like getting my FJ dirty, but I also like the hear, "It cleans up well!" Scarred up wheels detract from an other wise clean vehicle.

The FJ's 6-spoke alloy wheels would be nicer if the spokes were recessed a few inches from the face of the rim. Then again, one has to play with the cards that were dealt to them...or go aftermarket.:cheers:

Premium Member

I like getting my FJ dirty, but I also like the hear, "It cleans up well!" Scarred up wheels detract from an other wise clean vehicle.

The FJ's 6-spoke alloy wheels would be nicer if the spokes were recessed a few inches from the face of the rim. Then again, one has to play with the cards that were dealt to them...or go aftermarket.:cheers:

The OEM steel wheels are far superior as an offroad wheel. I have bent one before, don't even know how it happened. I took a hammer, hammered it back to straight, applied some touchup paint, and voila. Had i been using any of the alloy wheels, without a doubt it would have cracked the wheel and took out a chunk of the wheel causing me to have to replace the wheel.
Yes it would be better if they were more deep dish styled. The offroad package wheels are (compared to the 6 spoke standard wheels).